Man returned to prison after failing to register as sex offender in Parsonsfield, police say

PARSONFIELD, Maine – A man recently released from prison is back behind bars after failing to register as a sex offender, police said.

James Shortsleeves, 44, a York County transient who was convicted of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual content in 1996, was found living at a Parsonsfield home with four children under the age of 18, according to Chief Deputy Bill King of the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Shortsleeves was released from prison on March 1, and, as a lifelong registrant on Maine’s sex offender registry, he is required to verify his hometown every 90 days, King said in a weekend press release.

Shortsleeves had been living at the Parsonsfield residence since he was released from jail, King said. The chief deputy did not elaborate on the relationship Shortsleeves had to the family.

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Since Shortsleeves had failed to register his address since his release, the Department of Health and Human Services notified the York County Sheriff’s Office on Friday that a known sex offender was living in the home.

“The DHHS worker was concerned for the children’s safety,” King said.

Shortsleeves was arrested on Friday and charged with failing to comply with the sex offender registry act, King said. He remains at the York County Jail.